Dissidence can be carried too far, as events last fortnight at the Gujarat Pradesh Congress(I) Committee office in Ahmedabad proved.

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RAMESH MENON

July 16, 2013

ISSUE DATE: August 31, 1983

UPDATED: June 18, 2014 16:10 IST

Dissidence can be carried too far, as events last fortnight at the Gujarat Pradesh Congress (I) Committee (GPCC-I) office in Ahmedabad proved. A group of young men stormed the premises, grabbed Jayesh Shah, secretary of the National Students Union of India (NSUI), the student wing of the Congress(I), rained blows on him, dragged him out and beat him up with lathis.

They then, in the presence of GPCC(I) Secretary Hasmukh Patel, cornered NSUI President Umakant Mankad, and flung a chair at his head. Leaving a bleeding Shah and Mankad behind, the miscreants fled. The few office-bearers and reporters in the office crouched for cover.

The incident highlighted the differences between the warring groups in the NSUI and the Youth Congress. A war between Mankad and the group opposed to him, led by Vijay Kella, secretary of the Youth Congress, has been brewing for a few months. The reason: Mankad was gaining in popularity with the students and was becoming stronger. Kella is a former president of the NSUI.

In his complaint to the police, Mankad categorically said that he and Shah were assaulted by Kella, Shivkumar Chauhan, joint secretary, state NSUI, Rajendra Anchal, president, city NSUI and Jayanti Kapasi, a confidant of state Home Minister Prabodh Raval. In their turn, the four filed a counter complaint that Shah and Mankad had assaulted them. No arrests have been made.

Mankad: Assaulted

Public Accusation: Mankad, one of the firebrand student leaders who led the Nav Nirman agitation which overthrew the Chimanbhai Patel ministry, gave a dramatic twist to the incident by publicly alleging that he was beaten at the instance of Raval. Said he: "The Congress (I) should be ashamed of this incident. Though I am a part of the party, I am not going to take such humiliation lying down." Commenting on the charge, Raval said: "Mankad has been against me as I refused to withdraw some police cases where some of his friends were involved. The charge is ridiculous. Would any minister send goondas into his party office and that too in the presence of reporters?"

Two months ago, Mankad had surprised party circles by calling for a strike in schools in protest against the shoddy way the shortage of seats for eleventh standard science students was being handled. He eloquently castigated Raval and the Education Department - Raval also holds the education portfolio - for issuing faulty marksheets and for the lack of reassessment facilities.

The group of NSUI members opposed to Mankad is also opposed to Irzad Mirza, MP, president of the state Youth Congress and secretary of the GPCC(I). Youth Congress activists like Kella and Jitendra Shah, municipal councillor, want to dislodge them from these coveted posts.

Late this fortnight Kella and other NSUI and Youth Congress members were camping in Delhi to persuade the high command to replace Mirza. Mankad and Shah were also there to push their thesis that Raval was the trouble maker. Efforts by Pravin Engineer, convenor of the GPCC(I) complaints cell, to patch up differences drew a blank. The war is on.

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